


All the way through you

by Imaed



Series: RoyEd Week [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Regency, Ambiguous/Open Ending, And now a bonus, Angst, Arrested, Badass Edward, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends, Firefly AU, Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, Ishval Civil War, M/M, Pirates, Public Sex, Rude!Ed, Sea Monsters, Snowball Fight, Treason, War, a bit of angst, badass Alphonse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-18 07:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11869581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaed/pseuds/Imaed
Summary: My take on RoyEd Week 2017.Day 1 : Domestic and “You embarrassed me this evening.”Day 2 : "We could get arrested for this"Day 3 : The war was in color and “You’re taking his side?” + a bonusDay 4 : Gloves, Regency AU and “This is a terrible idea and I love you.” + a bonusDay 5: Desert, Wizard for Hire AU & “In the unlikely event that we live through this…”Day 6: Trust, Pirate/age of sail AU & “Is that what I think it is?”Day 7: Come to me & Sci-Fi AU





	1. Half past tea

“You are such a fucking asshole”

The evening had been a disaster and it seemed it was not over.

“I am not”

Ed and Roy had gone to a venue, the kind of catetered event Roy had to attend as a General. Of course as Roy’s partner Ed had been invited too. It was unusual for him to accept though. And as the evening played out Roy remembered why.

“You embarrassed me tonight” said Roy severely.

As they bickered Roy took Ed’s coat and hang it close to the door. He was careful to not pull any hair.

“Oh come on”

Ed took Roy’s gloves and silk scarf and put them in their lobby.

“You say that like I’m never an embarrassment to you”

That stopped Roy dead.

“This is not true”

They went to the kitchen, Ed put the kettle on and Roy took two mug in the cupboard.

“I am very proud of you most of the time”

Ed stared at him, annoyed. That was definitely not the right thing to say.

“What do you mean ‘most of the time’?

Ed poured the tea. The smell was familiar and soothing.

"This is not what I meant.”

“Of course not. You never mean anything by it.”

They were facing each other. Maybe it should be a better idea to just stop talking.  
Roy sipped his tea and tried to regain some countenance.

“Let’s go to bed” he finally said. “We will talk tomorrow. ”

“I won’t apologize” warned Ed stubbornly.

“Right. Why would you ? You just insulted one of our most influential investors.”

“I insulted an asshole.”

Once their tea was over they went to their bedroom. Ed’ s step was so loud you could barely hear the outside world. It was a shame though, the cicadas were singing.

“This asshole is threatening to nullify his investment in the East restructuration.”

Ed threw Roy’s pyjamas to his face. He was already half naked, trying to unknot his tie.

“This is serious!” Shouted Roy. “We need that money.”

This conversation was getting out of control.

“He called you a mass murderer, in my face” counters Ed. “I say he deserved what he had.”

“But I am!”

Once again they stared at each other.

“I know. But a piece of shit who hid during the whole war can suck it up and shut up.”

Ed looked so sullen it was almost comical.

“Let’s get to bed” said Roy as a peace offering.

Ed nodded. They lied down and with ease Roy hold Ed in his arm.

“Thank you for defending my honor” said Roy.

“Shut up”

They fell asleep calmly.


	2. All because of you

The night was still young when they were unceremoniously thrown into the room. They were alone, which could come as a surprise in a city such as Central. It certainly was a good surprise at the moment though. 

“Well, that was unpleasant” stated Edward.

“I would beg to differ.”

Edward stared at him. He probably wondered if Roy had taken a blow on the head. 

“Excuse you? Are you not processing this? Are you not the one always raging when I get into trouble?”

Roy elegantly sat down on the wooden bench. It was not comfortable but it had the merit of providing a small respite on his leg. He had, after all, used them extensively. 

“Well, it could be worse. We will be out in an hour or two. We just have to convince our… captors that it was an honest mistake.”

“The nerve of you” Edward started pacing. The room was small and his excess of energy was probably the result of their ‘vigorous’ arrest. He was still a bit red on the cheek, which was very cute on him. Edward didn’t blush very often but when he did he had thousands of freckles, otherwise hidden, that would appear. Roy had every intention to map them. Later. 

“I don’t remember hearing your protests” he said as daring as he could. 

Edward stared at him, so outraged he couldn’t speak for a full thirty seconds.

“I did ! I did protest.”

“You said, and I quote: ‘We could get arrested for this’. This is not by any definition a protest. A warning maybe.”

Ed stopped pacing and use his spare energy to glare at him. 

“I can’t believe you. How can you stay so calm, aren’t you even a bit worried about what could happened if someone heard about it?”

Ah. Well Roy couldn’t say he hadn’t thought about it before… He just had been caught in the moment. A very, very nice moment.

“Stop smiling!” shouted Edward.

Putting his best poker face on Roy tried to find a believable story to tell.

“Well if it gets that bad, I’m sure I can ask my very talented Alchemist consultant who would draw an array that could go back in time so we would stop this very unfortunate set of events.”

“Unbelievable” said Edward, resuming his pacing. 

“Aren’t you going to calm down?” asked Roy. 

“Shut up.”

Well, it hurt his feelings. Roy got up. It had the merit of stopping Edward in his grumbling. Roy stepped toward him, with as much sensuality he could and caught Edward’s hand in his own. 

He was so closed from Edward he could feel his skin’s warmth. He wasn’t touching him though, staying just outside his space. He could almost feel how Edward was resisting, trying not to not lean toward him. Roy had learned months ago that keeping really close to Edward was a sure way to keep his anger at bay. 

“Well?” he whispered, barely keeping his breath from caressing Edward’s neck. “Do you have anything else to complain about?”

Edward’s blush had receded, but his eyes were less focused, his breathe more labored. 

“OY!” shouted their captor. “No touching.”

With a growl Edward stepped aside.

“ _I can’t believe those two_ ” heard Roy once the guard was away, talking to one of his accomplice “ _I arrested them just half an hour ago while they were having sex in an alley, and the minute they are out of my sight, they are going at it again._ ”

“ _Young love_ " answered his comrade. 

‘Yeah’, thought Roy while watching Edward’s every move. ‘Young love indeed’.


	3. Twinkle Twinkle little snowball

It had all started quite nicely. The day was frozen, and the ground was already white with snow when Roy woke up. When he got down the stairs he found Maes cooing at Elicia and Nina who were almost glued to the window. Maes drew his camera so quickly, Roy had to update his weird speculations about where he stored it. 

Ed, who had woken later, unbothered by the noise the girls were making, had had the same reaction when he saw the snow. Which was how Roy begged his best friend for a copy of the picture. 

When Gracia, who was a goddess among men, according to Maes, called them to take their breakfast, Alphonse and Winry joined them. They were probably drawn in by the marvelous smell of Gracia’s cooking. 

Probably for the first time of his life Roy dragged his husband and his daughter to the dining room, followed closely by Elicia. They were so excited by the prospect of snow they almost choked on their pancake. 

“Children” admonished Gracia “take your time, the snow will still be there in ten minutes.”

Alphonse and Maes laughed, while Winry just facepalmed her head hopelessly. 

When they were “finally” done, Edward ran to the coatrack and helped both the girls to put their coat, gloves and hat on. He cast a suspicious stare at Alphonse, looking at the soft scarf, probably wanting to say some overprotective comment about his brother’s lungs. However, Alphonse glared at him so seriously, Edward kept his mouth shut. Which, in Roy’s experience, was quite an achievement. 

“We are out” said Edward without a look to the other adult in the room. 

A lovely morning then. 

The “real” adult had joined, eventually. It only took a quarter for Edward to suggest a snowball fight. Despite his new maturity – he was after all 28 – he was still the same on the inside. According to Alphonse it was sometimes tiring but Roy tended to disagree with him. 

“Okay, so who should lead the teams?” had asked Nina quite innocently. 

This question marked history as how the 1st war for the future of Amestris began. 

Of course Edward insisted to be a Team Captain. And Elicia declared herself his mortal enemy. Roy, always the gentlemen, sided with the lady which was the first act of treason, judging by Edward’s face. Nina, torn between her two fathers chose Edward. Roy almost cried from the unfairness and almost punched his husband to stop his smug face. But it didn’t last very long when Alphonse took a side.

“You are taking his side????” had shouted Edward.

“Well someone has to make sure you loose. And the Furher is quite useless when it’s wet outside” answered Alphonse with his gentlest smile.

Ed turned toward Winry and she let a feral smile colored her face. 

“Oh, it’s ON” she said, siding with Edward. 

Roy turned to Maes.

“So are you joining my team?”

“As much I would like to, I’m out” answered his best friend. 

“Oh, come on. It’s going to be fun!” encouraged Edward. “Besides, by going to my team, you would make sure nobody is going to hurt Elicia. You know, spying from the inside.”

“This is ridiculous” started Roy until he saw Maes nodded and walk toward Edward’s side.

“What ??? You are taking his side ?” 

“He is making a fair point” stated Maes. 

“We are one down” lamented Elicia. 

“No you are not” said Gracia, joining them on the snowy garden. 

“You are taking his side ???” shouted Maes. 

“Yes darling.”

And so it began. 

Roy brought his team together to strategize. It was easy to raise Edward’s temper, Maes could be distracted by Elicia and Gracia, which was a strategic advantage since he had a very good aim. They would have to be very careful with Nina of course. But also watch for Winry who was a fearsome opponent. 

Once they were ready, they built a fort, just like the other team and hide behind, preparing ammo. 

Roy was in charge of surveillance. He watched the long stretch of white and was surprised to see so many colors. Edward’s coat was flashing every time he moved, a vibrant red against the white of the snow. Sometimes he could also see Winry’s blond hair or Nina’s pink gloves. 

Really this war was in color. Nobody moved for a while until suddenly the bouts of colors stopped moving. Roy was instantly suspicious. He gathered his team and they prepared for a strike back. 

Edward and Winry appeared out of nowhere and started attacking with many snowballs. They were shouting some battle cries which were obviously designed to distract them. But before he could say anything, Elicia and Alphonse were giving blow for blow. 

Meanwhile Gracia was defending the fort from an expected attack from her husband who had taken Nina on his shoulder. Roy winced when he saw all the melted ice from Nina’s snowball falling on Maes neck. It was very unpleasant if Maes face was any indicator. 

Finally, Roy gave up all strategy and joined in the fun. 

Nobody was able to say who won. Both sides were heavily affected. 

The last man standing –or men in this situation – were Alphonse and Edward. It didn’t surprise anyone. 

_“This is how we won our first fight with Teacher”_ admitted Edward much later. 

When they were all exhausted and happy, all treasons were forgotten and they went back inside to drink hot chocolate. 

As all wars went, this one ended pretty nicely. 

**Bonus**  
Edward was frozen. He had ice in places he preferred not to think of. His automail hurt and his shoulder, while perfectly human, ached. Maybe the snowball fight hadn’t been such a good idea after all. 

Roy came into the room, took once glance at him and issued bath time. 

Without protesting – which was an achievement for Ed – Edward followed him in the bathroom. He let his husband plug the bathtub and set the temperature. He let himself be undress and watched with a smile how raptured Roy looked. 

“Nina is in bed?” asked Edward. 

Roy humed and kissed Edward’s naked shoulder.

“I tucked her in myself” he answered. 

Already Edward felt warmer. Roy was the kind of idiot who was happy to simply care for his family. Not that any of them were complaining or gave back as good as they get. 

“You are such a sap” stated Edward. 

“You should step into the bath” replied Roy. 

“Aren’t you joining me?” Edward was genuinely surprised.

“In a minute, but first I am putting some bubble bath in it. I know you love it.”

“Shut up”

Roy smiled very smugly. Of course he knew that in Edward’s mouth it meant _I love you_.


	4. A full round world

Edward had started frequenting King Bradley’s Court five years ago. Not by choice, mind you, but by obligation. He had been, at the moment, the only physicist the King had trusted.

King Bradley had found him during one of his bloody campaign to expand his kingdom. When he had witnessed Edward’s effort to keep his mother’s alive while she had lost almost all her torso, he had taken him and his little brother and coveted their talents for himself. 

At twelve he had been more educated than most of the aristocracy. King Bradley had exposed him like some trophy. First Edward had fought, but if King Bradley had a talent it was to find your weakness. 

Edward hated the man, wanted him dead more than anything in life. Of course, Edward could not act on his feelings since his little brother was in constant danger of being taken hostage. More than once, King Bradley threatened to kill Alphonse in retaliation from one of Edward’s slip up. 

By one of fate’s whim, Alphonse grew into a better doctor than Edward ever was. Probably because he cared about people more. Comparatively Edward never really did, he was more interested by the kind of sciences that rule their world; biology was just one of the many topic he wanted to know more about.

Anyway, King Bradley’s Court was a nightmare. Every night, Edward had to stand in the middle of all those assholes for hours without sitting, staying silent unless he was ordered to talk. He had to keep his tongue in check around the aristocracy and never be rude with them.

Incidentally, it is how he had met Earl Roy Mustang.

One night, on his fiftieth year, he was –finally- leaving after hours of asinine small talks, his leg pulsing from the effort of staying standing – even after three years of the same treatment, his leg was always a mess after Court. So, exhausted and passably in the worst mood ever, he had tripped and almost fall, head first on the carpet. 

He didn’t though, he was caught on the fly and steadied against someone chest. An audacious move, but a welcomed one. Edward was about to thank the man who had helped him . 

The Bastard brought Edward closer to him and pecked him on the cheek. Edward stopped breathing at once. This was not happening. He did the first thing he thought about. He kicked the Earl in the groin and ran away. 

Not exactly the most brilliant reaction ever. He spent the night trying not to panic. He watched his door, waiting for the Royal Guards to come in and take Alphonse to whip him, or worse. He waited and waited, unable to sleep, unable to relax. 

Nothing came, though. When Court time came, he was asked to stand like every night in front of everyone and ordered to stay silent. 

Edward didn’t see the bastard until a day or two later – when he had some time to bury his fear deep inside his head. 

The bastard peered at him, from afar. So, by pure contradiction, Edward did the same. 

The man was handsome and young probably, compared to the old howls who were striding the Royal Palace. He was older than Edward though. His clothed were clean but old fashioned, he wore white gloves which attracted every one’s attention to Edward surprise. 

Edward also wore white gloves; King Bradley had made them mandatory on his first day. During the first year, the whole staff had stared at the gloves like they were poisoned. He had never understood the obsession with it. 

Maybe it was a status thing? Was the bastard some kind of physicist too? Which would be strange, why would King Bradley call another doctor when he already had one with him; one he kept really loyal to him.

When Court ended Edward leaved the room, in a hurry to go back to his room. Except he could not. A gloved hand grabbed his head and covered his mouth, he was pulled back in a dark corner of the corridor.

“Don’t shout” whispered his aggressor. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Edward didn’t need his pathetic reassurance. He crushed the man foot and hit his ribs with his elbow. He was free in less than a minute. He turned around and was mortified to find the bastard, bent over trying to hold both his ribs and his foot. 

“What the …” shouted Edward before he pulled himself together. 

“I wanted to apologize for the last time” breathed out the man. 

“By trying to abduct me in a dark corridor?” answered Edward dubiously. Shit he was in trouble. Maybe he should shut up now. 

“This was admittedly not the best idea.”

“You mean it’s a terrible idea.”

Couldn’t he just shut up now? Instead of trying to get his situation worse.

The bastard smiled. 

“I didn’t want to scare you.”

“A huge success” snarled Edward back. “Why did you want to apologize for?”

“Last time? The kiss? I was out of line and…”

“Another terrible idea right? You seem to have a lot of them.”

This was his worst nightmare come real. He couldn’t stop himself. Admittedly, it was funny too. The bastard didn’t look offended even though Edward had hit him twice now. 

“What’s going on here?” asked a stern voice. 

Edward tensed almost instantaneously, which remind him his leg was still painfully throbbing. A royal guard was coming toward them, looking disgustingly at Edward.

“Is the half-man bothering you sir?” he asked.

Haha, funny names. Edward hadn’t missed them. 

“No, we were just talking” lied the bastard, calm as you please. Like Edward hadn’t assault him just a moment before. 

Edward kept his mouth shut, he had learnt painfully how every step out of the line could backfire. It seemed he knew his lesson well still. The bastard was the only exception to it.

When the guard went back to his post, Edward let a deep breathe out. He allowed himself to peek at the bastard and was surprised to find him looking annoyed. 

“Why is he calling you ‘half-man’?” he asked out of nowhere. 

“Have you been hiding in a cave somewhere for the last years?” 

To Edward’s knowledge his ‘status’ as a freak was a well documented story. All the country had heard about it. King Bradley had admitted during one of their rare encounters alone that Edward could not flee from the Royal Palace since all Amestris knew who he was. 

But the bastard stared at him like he didn’t know. He could have hidden it, keep his pride for once. Pride thought wasn’t very useful to survive. He held his right arm in front of him and showed his hand, underneath the glove. It was a clever mix of wood, leather and steel mirroring a hand. 

“Lost it in the war” he explained. “My left leg too.”

The bastard didn’t look repulsed, neither did he look weird or bothered at all. He was watching his arm with curiosity and nothing else.

“This is ingenious” he commented. “Must be really heavy though.”

Edward shrugged. 

The steeple rang seven time. Like the character of a fairy tale, the bastard excused himself and disappeared into the dark corridor he had tried to bring Edward in. 

It took Edward a long time to realize he had talked with the bastard, as himself and not as the pathetic slave he was, and lived to talk about it. 

It was a strange feeling. 

+++  
Bonus

The throne hall was packed full. Amestrians came from everywhere to see the coronation. 

Captain Hawkeye was watching the crowd with a suspicious glare and she was as tensed as a body could be. 

Alphonse was radiant, wore the finest clothes and talking with people from all horizon. 

Edward was… well to be honest he was elated. If someone had told him two years ago that he would find a man brave enough to kill King Bradley and take his crown ‘for the people’ Edward would have laugh. If this hypothetical person had told him that the same man would also become fool enough to love him, Edward would have punched that hypothetical person. 

But here he was, the Consort of a new king; a king who would accept to be wrong sometimes, who would accept to be fair and unbiased. Here he was, happier that he ever was after the war.

King Mustang stepped into the light and was applaud by everyone in the room. 

He interlaced his fingers with Edward’s and whispered to his ear.

“I feel like this is a terrible idea.”

It was way too late for that kind of crap.

“It is” admitted Edward. “But it’s okay, cause I love you and we are going through this together.”

He would deny saying something so sappy later, much later, deep in the night when nobody would be able to hear a word. But for now, he had a new life to celebrate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the BIG ellipse in time, but I had to finish today... GOSH it was so hard to come with an idea who wouldn't take 10k or more. I have so many of them already, waiting to be written. Hope you are note too disappointed, I tried to write an happy ending.   
> Enjoy Folks! :D


	5. One thousand and a half nights

From the moment he laid a foot on this village, Edward knew something was wrong. The inhabitant were looking at him like some jack in the box. Mothers ushered their offspring inside, men and kids just old enough leave school were flexing their muscles on his way. 

When he finally arrived at the sheriff’s office, we was feeling watched by so many eyes he didn’t even tried to count them. 

The sheriff was a giant, a literal giant with big arms –and what was it with this village and people folding their arms to intimidate stranger? – and a calm look. Which was more to say than his fellow countrymen. 

“What does a wizard want in this removed place?” asked the sheriff. 

Edward frowned. 

“You called me” he answered stung by the people aggression.

“There must be a mistake” said impassively the sheriff. “We have no need for a Wizard.”

The man spit very close to Edward’s boots. Edward tried not to let his temper answer for him. He opened his travel bag and got a paper out. 

“This is the contract that was sent to me by Sheriff Noah, of the Ishval Valley. I didn’t walk for two weeks in this fucking desert for nothing. So either pay me or explain to me what use of a wizard you have. You better stop wasting my time though. I’m not exactly cheap.”

“You are the Fullmetal Wizard?” asked the man dubiously. 

“Yes.” Edward gave him the piece of paper and peeked around him.

A small crowd gathered around them; they started talking between them. 

“I thought he would be taller.” “A midget can become a certified Wizard?” ‘You think he can really do it?’

Edward became so red from rage his face was smoking. 

“The contract is authentic” commented the sheriff. 

“You better have a good explanation for this” growled Edward. 

He followed the sheriff inside his office and after he was offered a fresh glass of water – heaven existed! – the huge man started to talk. 

“As you are probably aware, Ishval is at war with its neighbor. A few months ago Amestris send Wizards of their own. It has been difficult times since then.”

“I can imagine” commented Edward. Wizard could be very destructive when they set their mind to it. Destructive spell were always so much easier to perform than healing and manufactured ones; first of all because you didn’t need to know the atomic composition of a roc to destroy it, you just needed enough pressure. Of course purist wizard would say that the quantification of ‘enough’ pressure would depend on molecular strength, whatever. 

“At the time we made that contract, the village had agreed to negotiate with them. It was a disaster. The wizards sent our emissary in pieces. We had thought that a fellow wizard could help to convince them instead of… commoners.”

“So what? I’m your next victim?”

“No. We can’t reason with those… mindless dogs.”

Well if the disgust on the sheriff’s face was the common attitude toward wizards here, his warm welcoming wasn’t such a surprise after all. 

“Why didn’t you canceled the contract then?” asked Edward annoyed. If he had to go back to his shop without payment Winry was going to kill him; Alphonse too, to a lesser extent.

“We did. It must have missed your departure.”

Great. So what was going to do now? Edward breathed out. He could still suggest his services but he wasn’t sure they would be welcome. Besides he could not require his fees if the contract had been canceled, even if it was without his knowledge. 

“I can set a few ward around if you want” tried Edward.

“I’m sorry, I realize this could be ambiguous for you. Let me be very clear. We want nothing to do with Wizards or Magic anymore. Any practicing wizard caught on our side of the border will be executed.”

“That escalade quickly. So what, a bunch of asshole are hired to win the war and suddenly any practicing wizard is the enemy?” 

Of course Edward had run straight to the slippery slope. The sheriff‘s face, who had been collected, became dangerously closed. 

“I will see myself out then” said Edward quickly. 

XXX

The desert was vast and very hot. If Edward hadn’t knew a spell to keep his arm and leg cool he would have burn his skin pretty heavily.

He had crossed a multitude of ruins during his travel; while on his journey toward the village he hadn’t noticed how devastated the Ishval valley had been. Now that it had been pointed out, it was kinda obvious. 

Edward had to admit the wizard on Amestris‘ side didn’t approach this war with subtlety. It was a shame. Magic was fascinating when practiced with subtlety. 

He had not intended to be found by them; actually he had hoped he could cross back the desert without anyone noticing him. Too bad they disagreed with him.

“Don’t move or you are dead!” he heard one afternoon after a long day of walk. 

Two heavily armed men appeared from nowhere just behind him. 

“Raise your hands and no funny business” ordered the same voice. 

Edward obeyed, unbothered. He was good enough at his craft he didn’t need to draw spells like most of his competitors. He let one of the men examine his bag under the tired glaze of his companion. He looked really different from the other, almost dead on his feet he was. 

“Got a problem?” asked Edward to the tired man.

“Shut up” shouted the other man. He was harshly emptying Edward’s coat and pockets on the sand. It was only a matter of second until he found the contract. Edward didn’t think he would care that the contract had been canceled. It would probably serve as an excuse to raid the village. 

Edward couldn’t let this happen. Even though they had treated him roughly and refuse to employ him, those people were just equally deserving a life than those Amestrians. 

He clapped his hand and sent a rope spell toward the tired man. Edward ducked the punch from the other soldier and clapped his hand again, releasing a spell to immobilize him. 

The man dodged the spell and attacked Edward with a smug smile.

“You wizard, always counting on your magic, but once you are in close range you are useless.”

He tried to kick and punch Edward without success. Edward avoided all his blows with ease. He had been trained by one of the best martial artisan who ever walked this ground. This was a child game. 

Once again he clapped and took advantage of his size to push his hands against his assailant’s ribs. Edward heard a cracking noise and smiled. This would be painful enough for the soldier to stop moving but without being lethal. 

“Flame” shouted the angry soldier to his companion. “You are here to defend me!”

The tired soldier, who Edward had previously tied with a rope, was free. A fellow wizard then. Edward eyed him suspiciously. If he was strong enough to free himself from Edward’s spell he could be a dangerous fighter. 

The other wizard, Flame reminded himself Edward, took a solid stance in the sand and snapped his fingers. Suddenly Edward was surrounded by fire. It was hot enough to burn him, but only superficially. Well, a dangerous fighter indeed. Edward clapped his hand and removed the oxygen around the fire. It died right away. 

Flame frowned and snapped again; this time the fire looked different, bluer maybe? Edward dodged it, protecting his eyes with his right arm. Luckily, his spell to keep his arm cool was still active and the flames didn’t scratch the limb.

The Flame guy was good. He had switch from oxygen to hydrogen peroxide in a heartbeat. He knew what he was doing, obviously. Too bad Edward had a few tricks in his sleeve. 

Edward breathed in and carefully visualized his spell, it was a complex operation but if he could do it properly, he would win this fight for good. 

However, Flame was quicker than Edward, he snapped again and again, clearly trying to prevent Edward from clapping his hands. Edward changed his tactic and throw a haze of sand toward the wizard. He clapped almost instantly and found what he was looking for quite easily. In his haste to win the fight, Flame had produced much more combustion chemicals in the air than the average. Edward deconstructed the molecules and transmuted them in water. A heavy rain fell on them both. 

Edward smirked, no spark no flame. 

He was about to attack when he slipped on the wet sand and got swallowed by it. The rain had probably unsettled the ground. Now he was stuck, his legs half buried in the sand. To be fair, the Flame wizard was stuck too. So at least Edward was not in immediate danger.

They stare at each other dumbly. 

“So now what?” asked Edward.

“Why did you attack us?” asked Flame, which of all the question he could have asked was the stupidest, by far. 

“Why do you think? You and your friend were ready to pounce on me.” snared Edward.

“This is a warzone, you can’t cross it without being controlled by the army.”

Edward rolled his eyes. This was stupid; he didn’t want to argue about his freedom of movement. His legs sank a little when he moved to pull away. It wasn’t working and now he had sand to his knees. Great ! 

“I don’t like people who try to intimidate me” he settled for. He couldn’t exactly tell he had been mandated by the Ishvalan to protect them from Amestrian’s wizards. Just because he didn’t want to use social cue didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of them. 

“What are you doing here anyway?” asked Flame. 

“It was the quickest way to go home” lied Edward. 

“It’s a warzone” repeated Flame, slower like he was talking to a child.

“I know how to defend myself” retorted Edward. 

“Obviously” snarked Flame back. 

Edward growled and felt his temper raised. He try to pull himself out again and had now sand to his tight. Only Flame’s feet were buried. This was so unfair.

“Well, at least I’m not here to murder people.”

That was a low blow and he knew it, but he was annoyed and too hot and his spells were starting to recede. He would have to recast them later, when he would be alone. 

When Edward glared at his enemy, Flame’s face was pale like he had saw Death herself. 

“This was not supposed to happen” he tried to defend himself but his voice was cracking and he visibly stopped himself from shaking. 

Okayyyyyyyyyyyy. That was unexpected. 

“So what? What were supposed to happen?”

“We were sponsored to protect both side, to be sure none were hurt.”

“How did that work for you?”

This time Flame couldn’t stop a shudder. 

Edward breathed out, slowly, keeping his temper in check. 

“Why didn’t you leave?” he asked morosely. This journey was definitely not what he had envisioned; and his expectation had been low. 

“I can’t. My friends, they need me.”

Flame looked pathetic. Edward wondered what it felt like to be stuck in a situation like that, unable to escape but hating every minutes.

“Why don’t you rebel then?” he suggested. 

It seemed so simple from his point of view. Flame could go back to Amestris and sabotage the whole thing. It didn’t seem so complicated. 

“I can’t betray my country!!”

“Well, you don’t seem too sad about betraying your principles” retorted Edward. 

Flame was quiet for a long minute.

“If I rebelled, hypothetically… what would I do?”

Edward stared at him annoyed.

“Blow up a few building, pretend to kill people but sending them away, become the fucking Ruler and sign an armistice. I don’t know!! But first you have to get out of this fucking SAND!!” shouted Edward. 

“Would you help?”

“Help with what?”

“The rebellion thing.”

Edward couldn’t believe his own hears. He was going to die of thirst or a fucking heat stroke or swallowed by FUCKING SAND and the guy he had just apparently backfired on his own country was asking him to join an hypothetical rebellion. 

“This is insane.”

“If I get you out of this quicksand, are you going to help me?”

Wait, what? The guy knew how to get out of this trap? Edward was buried to the hip and the fucking wizard was staring at him while he knew how to help him???

“As soon as I’m out of this, I’m kicking your ass!” he threatened.

“Are you going to help?” asked stubbornly the flame wizard.

“YES FINE I WILL, BUT I BETTER GET PAID!” the urgency on his voice was fake. Of course Edward would never be scared of a bit of sand. Nope. He never dreamed of being burry alive. Never.

Flame didn’t wait to give him the answer and in the end it was so easy Edward felt stupid: basic weight distribution.

“Just fold your body on the sand and crawl out of the hole.”

Once he was finally – _finally_ \- out Edward took his sweet time to breathe. He was covered in sweat and sand and it was grating his nerves. 

“In the unlikely event that we live through this…” he started “remind me to never go into a desert _ever_ again.”

“I will” said Flame distractedly. 

“So” pondered Edward, once he was feeling better. “Where do we start?”


	6. Row row row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CUTIE ALERT !   
> A bit of fluff to go in this world of brutality.

Alphonse loved Tortuga. 

It was one of the rare places where he didn’t have to hide who he really was and what he really could do. People in Tortuga were wild. They didn’t care he was only eleven when he started frequenting them; they didn’t care he was just an empty armor. They didn’t pity him, they didn’t watch him with guilt all over their face. No. What they did was see him and think ‘I probably can beat this guy, let’s try’. 

As a result Alphonse was well-known among the Tortugan’s population. Every single time he was asked for a duel and he loved it. Every year, when the Nine Captains were gathering and talking about Pirate thing, he was in the street, punching people with his steel fists. It was hilarious and a hell of an entertainment. Besides, none of his opponent ever had hard feelings after they lost. 

Edward comparatively hated Tortuga, not only because, as one of the nine Captains he had to come back every year to give a report of their ‘activities’ to the Pirate King. He almost always walked out of the meeting with his face red and his temper high. He stormed to the first tavern he could see and beat the hell out of every sailor who would dare comment him… on any matter. 

Also, it was funny how, after seven years, Tortugan still taunted him while they knew they would end with a broken nose; if they were lucky. 

Well, the Elric borthers weren’t known for their restraints. 

Of course, pirates had other reason to sail at Tortuga than the annual meeting of the Nine: you could find provision, company and bad looting plan at every corner. 

Alphonse remembered fondly how they had end up, years ago, with the strangest crew ever trying to find the fountain of youth. Let’s say it hadn’t end very well. Greed, their captain at the time had been driven that for sure, he also had no previous knowledge about navigating. 

Anyway, Alphonse loved Tortuga. He always met the most fascinating person here. Men and women cursed beyond recognition lived here and started the strangest trade: exotic goods, spiritual experiences, unholy services. He also loved how it was a rallying point for all of his friends; how his brother was always more relaxed and smiling around them. 

Edward loved his crew, of course he did, he would give his life to them, but at sea, he saw danger everywhere. 

Never was he calmer than after a glass or two of his favorite heavily spiced wine and telling one of their terrible and yet exciting adventure to an attentive audience. 

“This is where we found it” he was saying “a giant serpent, breathing underwater, his eyes bigger than my head, his fangs spraying poison on my ship. We almost sank that day.”

Alphonse nodded, they had had so much luck. It was a miracle the snake jaws were so large he impaled himself on the mast. 

“Bullshit” called someone in the room. “you don’t have any proof !”

Edward smirked and grasped his right arm, pulling the shirt out of the way. He had made the fang carve as a souvenir. It was elegantly looking like a giant kraken, fighting against a small ship. Well, Winry had been really inspired for her piece. 

“We will have to change your nickname” slurred a familiar voice behind them. 

Alphonse turned around and found himself in front of the very drunk Pirate King: Roy Mustang himself. It was such a good surprise, Alphonse almost ran to the man to crush him into a hug. Of course Edward was looking torn between pleasure to see him and annoyance at his interruption. 

Alphonse took one for the team and freed his seat to let the very drunk Captain Mustang sit with the rest of them. He was used to the hovering situation anyway, with a brother so small. 

“You are here early” commented the King. “I thought I wouldn’t see you until at least the next tide.”

“We got a strong wind from East” answered Edward. 

These two always had had the most intricate relationship Alphonse had the pleasure to witness. Alphonse never took his brother for a romantic, or a shy person. When the King was here though, he could be on his best behavior – or on his worst depending on how long they had stayed apart from each other. Tonight, Edward looked like he was dying to be close to the man. It was funny to watch how he tried to keep his attention focused on anyone in the room but Captain Mustang. It was also funny how he failed tremendously.

“Entertain us with your story then, I think those gentlemen didn’t hear the end of it.”

Their relationship was far from a secret on Tortuga, it had barely made a scandal when they made it official. Of course, at the time, Edward was already the youngest Captain to be accepted with the Nine; the very famous Fullmetal Captain who had sailed his ship beyond the horizon and came back to tell the tale; he had befriended merfolks and fought with them against the Amestrian’s Army…. Not exactly a nobody. 

Captain Mustang, not yet King at the time, had been known for his service on Amestris and his sensational start as a pirate when he had decided the expansion policy of the country was bullshit. 

“I’m not sure you can stay awake until the end, old man” said Edward in jest. 

Captain Mustang growled playfully and started running his hand in Edward’s hair; which made his brother cheek redden horribly. It only spurred Captain Mustang to be more affectionate. 

Well aware of the usual display of affection, Edward’s audience had scattered, resuming their previous activities; which allowed the two of them some kind of privacy. Not from Alphonse though, because of some weird consequence of the curse he had received he could almost always hear his brother. He had no ears, this didn’t make any sense!

Anyway, it didn’t take long for Edward to worry about his lover. 

“You started early” said Edward with a reproving tone.

Captain Mustang love for the bottle was also well known, what people didn’t know was that it was often to hide from his personal demons. 

“I had some adventure of my own” answered Captain Mustang.

Edward frowned. It didn’t suit his lover mood, the man leaned on Edward shoulder; they ended up in a uncomfortable and awkward position where the Pirate King was trying to sit on Edward’s lap while still sitting in another chair.

“Stop being an idiot and just move the chair” mumbled Edward; which was a surprising reaction, Alphonse’s brother wasn’t tremendously known for his love of public display of affection.

Captain Mustang obeyed without a word and leaned almost completely on Edward, putting his head on the crook of Edward’s neck. Alphonse didn’t hear what he said or couldn’t see what he showed to Edward, but his brother reaction was worth a thousand words. 

“Is it what I think it is?” he asked furious. 

Captain Mustang nodded, cautiously; more because of the alcohol than because of his lover’s anger. 

“You are not allowed close to Amestris shore ever again” sentenced Edward. “I don’t care of their people are starving or if they are of the brink of a war. You are a pirate for fuck sake, not a good Samaritan.”

The Pirate King smiled depreciatively but didn’t say another word. Edward sighted and took one of his lover hand in his own, entwining their fingers. Captain Mustang breathed in Alphonse’s neck and let all the tension leave his shoulder, letting Edward supporting his weigh.

“Please, tell me you didn’t run away from your Second not a month after being capture and branded by the Amestris’ army. “

“This is Tortuga, I don’t risk anything.”

Edward sighted again and mumbled a prayer to all the sea gods –at least all the sea gods he hadn’t pissed off yet – and looked at Alphonse. 

“Can you find Hawkeye please? Before she kills anyone she doesn’t mean to?” he asked jaded by his lover behavior.

Alphonse nodded his consent; he didn’t want his reputation of the strongest fighter of Tortuga to be tarnished by a furious Hawkeye, punching every man she crossed. 

“She is going to kill you one day” whispered Edward. 

“M not worried” slurred the Pirate King, “I know y’ll protect me.”


	7. The final frontier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Firefly AU, for those who don't know this show (WATCH IT, IT'S AMAZING) is about a crew of space cowboys who were, for most of them, part of a rebellion against a big empire (No, I promise it's not a star wars plagiarism) and lost the war. Years later, as they operate a spaceship named Serenity, they pick up some weirdos and have to flee for some new adventures !!

If someone had told Roy Mustang, Captain of star ship Serenity, that would be housing a fugitive of the _Great_ Alliance of Amestris, he would have pat the stranger, bought him a drink and laugh at the good joke. He would have killed him as soon as the glass was empty to be sure he would never talk again. These days you can never know who is selling information.

Of course, wearing the blue coat was not helping, anyone could recognize it. 

Anyway, when the shy figure of Alphonse-no-last-name had boarded on Serenity, Roy had been the opposite of curious. Although to be fair, the boy looked nothing like a criminal; Roy would know. 

His “luggage” was a little unusual, but Roy was more worried about the hidden cargo than the regular one. His team had just stolen Alliance’s pieces of equipment from a very old ship, flying around into the empty space. So no, the kind who wanted to go as far from Ariel as possible with a big box, really the size of a small horse, was not among his priority. 

Of course, now in the middle of a shouting match with an infiltrated agent of the Alliance, Alphonse and himself, he was reviewing his opinion on the matter. 

“Alphonse Elric” was shouting the man “you are under arrest for robbery of the Alliance’s weapons and property.”

It didn’t deter the boy, who could only be fifteen or sixteen. Roy could only be stupefied. To succeed such a move, it required a level of badassery which didn’t match Alphonse’s profile. Even though Roy had met the boy for a grand total of five minute, he had appeared quiet and good mannered; he was probably the most polite person Roy had met in a while. Not exactly large scale banditry material. 

Roy was tempted to say he didn’t care, he had his own conflict with the Alliance and keeping a low profile was a very important part of his smuggling business.

In the cross-fire, the Alliance agent had come close to the box. 

“Don’t touch it” ordered Alphonse. 

The soldier pushed the lid violently. Smoke slipped out of the opening. The soldier took a look inside and was grabbed by something. Roy could not see exactly what it was because of the smoke but he could hear the sound of suffocation from the soldier. Roy hold his weapon tighter; he was not fond of bad surprises. 

When the noises stopped, Alphonse stepped closer from the… whatever was inside. 

“It’s okay” he said calmly. “Nobody is going to hurt you here. Just calm down.”

The smoke cleared up and Roy could see what was emerging from the box. It was a person; a naked, half metallic person. 

“What the fuck?” whispered Roy. 

The naked boy stared immediately at him, like he had heard and he was ready for a fight if Roy could judge his stance. 

“I said” repeated Alphonse with a harder voice “nobody is going to hurt you here.”

Roy could determine if it was for the naked boy’s benefice or if it was a threat to the only remaining weapons older in the room, Roy himself. 

The boy relaxed gradually, but he never stopped glaring at Roy. 

Alphonse came closer and _finally_ cover him with his coat. 

“Are you going to explain?” asked Roy with his more authoritative tone.

It was obviously the wrong move since the no longer naked boy, a bit older than Alphonse even thought he was shorter, tensed again. 

“This is my brother, Edward” said Alphonse, trying to adjust his coat on his brother’s shoulders. The brother in question didn’t seem to care about his nudity. 

Roy nodded toward the dead soldier. He was still waiting for an explanation.

“It’s complicated” sighted Alphonse.

“I got kidnapped by an Alliance secret operation and made into a human weapon” stated Edward blankly, his voice was rapping, like he hadn’t use it in a while. 

“Or not” sighted Alphonse. “Please, we don’t want any trouble, we just want to leave this planet” he then pleaded. “I can work; I’m a doctor and make sure nobody get injured.”

Roy stared suspiciously at the two brothers. Keeping Alphonse was not a problem per say but Edward, Roy could imagine how much trouble this one could bring. 

“It’s not about how useful you can be” explained Roy “it’s about how many trouble this will get us into.”

“Not as much as your little cargo” slurred Edward.

Wait, what?

Edward walked toward Roy with cat-like steps, light but deadly. Roy could almost hear Hawkeye cock her riffle.

“Let’s say you are arrested by the Alliance, you can always bullshit them and tell them you didn’t know about this… _situation_. But the second they start rummaging this ship and found the Alliance’s stamped merchandise and you are done.”

“What make you think it’s objectionable merchandise?” pretended Roy. 

Edward smiled, it was not a very pleasant one and Roy could see how insane it made him look. Alphonse was tensed behind him, obviously not sure about what was about to happen. 

“Firefly class ship” stated Edward “favored by smugglers because there is always so many hiding spot. You just have to listen to this ship and she can tell you every cargo she ever held in her belly.”

“Ed” warned Alphonse; even though Roy had no idea what he was warning him about.

Edward only licked his lip in answer, staring appreciatively at Roy.

“You could keep me around” he whispered in a sultry voice “I’m not such a horrible person once you know me better” 

His brother looked scandalized. Of course, it was Roy’s luck to be propositioned by an insane teenager who appeared to be the Alliance’ property. 

There was nothing to do for now, he would have to keep both the boys aboard, he couldn’t unload them into space anyway. 

“Stay out of trouble, and that include my room” ordered Roy.

“He will” assured Alphonse, running to hold his brother flesh arm.

“Sure, whatever” said Edward, looking suddenly bored.

When Roy walked up the stairs and found his second, tidying her riffle into its case, he sighted. 

“Keep an eye on them” he ordered.

She looked at him like he had stated the obvious. This was going to be a long journey.

Xxx

Edward was clinically insane. That was Alphonse’s medical opinion. He had no notion of context and couldn’t structure his thoughts. As a result, he was often lost on the ship, wandering the corridors, muttering about one thing or the other. 

It didn’t mean he was less a genius than _before_. He could still resolve complex calculation, repair whatever equipment that was broken, sing songs in four or five different languages. It was just random. One day he could remember all the names of the Newsolar system planet, countries, capital and current leader; the very next he forgot how to tie his shoes. 

His health wasn’t much better. His body alternatively stopped processing vitamins and proteins without distinct patterns. It was probably the reason why his growth had stopped. His bionic arm and leg while functional on all matter were slowly poisoning his blood with residues of steel and titanium. His appetite was gone and he barely ate during the communal meal; as far as Alphonse knew he didn’t sleep either, just laid on his bed awake until the morning.

Not for the first time since he had board on the Serenity Alphonse hold his head on both his hands trying to rationalized how someone could have done so much to his brother. 

Edward watched him without a care in the world. From the very moment Alphonse had found him and help him escape from this horrible facility he had shown no emotions: no anger, no fear, no happiness. He just was. It was the most heartbreaking thing Alphonse could ever think of. Edward before had been so… alive!

“We will get through this” swore Alphonse.

Edward smiled mechanically but didn’t answer.

Xxx 

Edward had got better then worse then better again. He had taken a strange fondness for Roy. Roy wasn’t sure he always returned the favor. Despite his first introduction, Edward was a difficult person to get along with; first of all because one never knew what kind of mood he was in.

The rest of the crew had decided to treat him like an exotic and dangerous animal; which, even if it wasn’t fair to him, was an accurate description. 

Anyway, Edward had took the habit to follow Roy during some specific time of the ‘space’ day; from breakfast to early afternoon to be exact; then he disappeared either with Mai Chang, their mechanic, or with Alphonse talking about a completely impossible equation or maintenance operation. It took a whole month to realize that it was because Edward was avoiding Havoc and Hawkeye the most. Morning was usually the moment they were training in the cargo while on the afternoon they were staying inside the communal area or the cockpit. Edward was not uncomfortable around weapon; he was uncomfortable around people who used them. 

It made his affection for Roy even more stranger since he always kept his blaster with him, at all time. 

“It’s because your eyes are too soft” he had answered when Roy had tried to ask him. He should have known better. 

Xxx

On the ninth month the Alliance found them. 

Edward had cornered Roy on the cockpit while they were alone and, looking saner than he ever had been since he first stepped into this ship, he said:

“Don’t let them take Al”

“What about you?” had asked Roy.

Edward had snickered. “I can endure better.”

It only strengthened Roy’s resolve to not be taken.

Xxx

On the eleventh month, Edward started sleeping in Roy’s room. Not on the bed mind you, no on the floor. 

Alphonse had barged in one night, waking Roy up and they had both found Edward soundly asleep. Roy had tried to wake him but Alphonse had stopped him.

“It’s the first time I see him sleep” he had whispered. 

It could mean a lot of things; the more Roy learned about Edward though, the more he doubted it was a harmless story. 

Xxx

Almost one year to the day Roy got abducted. 

It was about a stupid job he had done for the record. The man, who called himself ‘Father’ had fled to the Reavers space; knowing fully nobody would bother to follow him here. 

Roy never exactly knew what happened or how he got rescued since he had been out for most of it. But when he had woke up in his own ship sickbay he had been greeted by Alphonse lovely smile and Edward... Edward, had been covered in blood and growled at anyone who dared come too close from Roy. 

Later, while he was recovering, Edward had confessed why he had avoided Havoc and Hawkeye. It wasn’t because he was intimidated by them. It was because he couldn’t afford to befriend the people he was going to kill later, when they would threatens his life or the life of his master.

Roy then had understood why the Alliance had called Edward a ‘weapon’.

Xxx

“Do you think Edward sees me as his Master?” he asked Alphonse.

“I don’t know” answered the boy. “Nobody knows what he thinks these days.”

Alphonse looked dejected, like he had failed his brother. If Roy hadn’t felt the same, he would have offered some comfort.

Xxx

“When we were kids, Alphonse always nagged me about drinking my milk.”

Roy had been tethering on the edge of sleep. Of course, this had been when Edward decided to start talking.

“Why?” moaned Roy. 

“It’s supposed to make me bigger.”

“No, why do you think about it now?” asked Roy.

“He is sad” stated Edward. “He doesn’t understand why I am the way I am.”

Roy sighted and resolved himself to have a conversation, late into the night, which made no sense to him. He had learned during a year and a half with Edward on his crew that, if payed enough attention, it would make sense, eventually. 

“Is there a reason? To be the way you are?”

“I will get caught again” answered Edward with certainty. “It makes no sense for him to get attached to me.”

Roy rose slowly from his bed. He tried not to spook Edward with a sudden move.

“You haven’t been caught yet” he stated carefully.

“I ran the math. You got more chance to be killed by an asteroid than me not getting caught.”

Roy stared at the boy who was lying down on his floor.

“Why the milk?” he asked.

“Because I like remembering the good times. When it got dark up there” Edward pointed at his brain “it’s all I have. Good times.”

“You could spend some time with him; make new ones.”

“What kind of bastard would I be then? Making him happy, or what the closest anyway, and then rip it from him when I’m taken again.”

“Why not leave then?” asked Roy with a genuine curiosity.

“I cannot function alone.”

Roy held his breathe. It had always been a sore point before, to determine if Edward was aware of his condition or not. So, that answered the big question.

When Roy started a new, deep breathe, Edward was gone. 

Great.

Xxx

“It’s only a matter of time” had said Edward. 

“You keep him safe the day I’m gone” he had added. “You don’t let him go after me.”

Roy was desperate for a way to make him stop saying depressing shit. So one night, another strange and deep night, he kissed Edward. It was a little urgent, a little warm; and then Edward answered in kind. It became steamy and passionate. 

“Don’t you dare leave this crew” had whispered Roy against the boy’s lips. ‘Don’t you dare leave _me_ ’ he had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is the end. 
> 
> I had to stop here because the next part was reaaaaally depressing. For those who want to know anyway I was going to get Edward captured again and kill himself/or killed by Roy/ so Alphonse would never be sad because of him again.... Which was how I was planning on putting the sentence “If I’m the voice of reason, you know it’s a bad idea.” of today's prompt... SO finally not such a bad end as it is written !!!!
> 
> Thanks to all my readers, If you want some continuation please contact me on my tumblr imaed.tumblr.com :D Love you all !!


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